


All Will be Firm Without Us

by jesterlady



Category: Smallville
Genre: Episode Related, F/M, Flashback, Humor, Romance, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-27
Updated: 2011-06-27
Packaged: 2017-10-22 01:25:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/232171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesterlady/pseuds/jesterlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Queens had never had a real honeymoon.  Point in fact; they'd never had a proper vacation.  Throughout their long partnership and relatively short marriage, they didn't remember adopting six children with superpowers and short attention spans but that appears to be what happened.  So now they'd love to take a break, catch up with their old friend Zatanna, and find out exactly how they'd gotten married.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Break Me Off a Piece of that Kit Kat Bar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville. Some lines are from the show. The title is by Pablo Neruda.  
> A/N: Spoilers for the finale. This fic was partly to have fun with the team being too dependent on Chlollie and partly to explore the episode of Fortune. I'm going pretty canon here, even with the post-finale stuff but the Fortune segments play with the timeline but I figure that's ok considering all the liberties they took and the whole camera only playing things in bits.

[](http://pics.livejournal.com/jesterladyfic/pic/00005rz7/)   


Part One: Break Me Off a Piece of that Kit Kat Bar

The Queens had never had a real honeymoon. Point in fact; they'd never had a proper vacation. Whether that was due to the stressful world of running one of the most successful technology businesses in the country and being a Pulitzer prize winning journalist or due to the stressful world of being in charge of a secret league of superheroes, could never fully be confirmed. Each had their own theory and sometimes they intermixed, but the real meat of the matter was that they desperately needed some time off.

Not that they didn't enjoy their lives. Since being drawn together through a myriad of strange circumstances, they'd lived an odd dance of synchronicity and danger that they thrived on and both admitted wouldn't work without their partner. It was a leap from the corporate boardroom into green leather and a ducking into the staff workroom to crack the algorithms of a government military base experimenting on metahumans. Whatever the experience, they did it coolly, expertly, and together.

Throughout their long partnership and relatively short marriage, they didn't remember adopting six children with superpowers and short attention spans but that appears to be what happened.

***

“What is it this time, Victor?” Oliver asked, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“They're doing it again. They're doing it all the time,” the voice on the other end of the line said desperately. “Make them stop!”

“Put Bart on,” Oliver answered. 

There was a whooshing sound and Oliver could almost picture Bart running for the hills or Mexico or the Antarctic or wherever the wind took him.

“Gone.”

“Well, that solves your problem then, doesn't it? Now, if you don't mind, I have got a million dollar deal waiting in the boardroom of the company that pays for all your sorry hides. You mind if I get back to that?”

“Hey, I'm the responsible one,” Victor protested.

“Then take some initiative.” 

Oliver hung up the phone with the beginnings of a headache and rejoined his business meeting.

His work as CEO was just as important as his other work. It was his company and its funding that provided the resources necessary to work as a team. Queen Industries was only now recovering from all the stress and turmoil of a hostile takeover by a mirror universe Lionel Luthor. He’d spent most of the first year since his return to Star City working on just that. It had been worth it. He'd been born into this life and, despite his many falls from glory and long struggles to climb back up, he wouldn’t trade the responsibility for the world. Not that he didn’t sometimes wish he could let other people handle meetings like this particular one.

It was an important merger and would likely help the team for when they needed passage on their international travels. It was hard focusing so much on the big picture sometimes, but that was his job. Or at least one of them. If only the adult heroes he employed could stop squabbling like children he’d be able to do it properly.

***

Chloe paid for her coffee and sat down in the booth, fully ready for her fifteen minute break. She’d been out hunting leads on a story all morning, that and taking phone calls from around the world. It was exhausting. She sometimes felt like she lived a quadruple life. She was Chloe Queen, wife to Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Industries, she was Chloe Queen, intrepid reporter, she was Watchtower, guide of all things JLA, and she was a promoter, traveling all around the world finding and encouraging superheroes. 

When she and Oliver had moved to Star City to get away from their past and start their future, she’d had to come to terms with a lot of different things. For one thing, there was the fact of her status. She was technically nobody since she’d erased everything about her life but memories. Fortunately, memories, some carefully concealed documents, and a high school yearbook went a long way toward reestablishing her identity. But it had taken work and it had been six months to a year before she and Oliver had dared to reveal her to the world as Chloe Queen nee Sullivan. They'd taken that long to get her identity in place and to allow Star City to get used to the idea of their own Oliver Queen being the infamous Green Arrow. While they both wished that Oliver hadn't outed himself, they also both took equal blame for it and tried not to mention it. 

The work hadn’t stopped there. Once they’d become the country’s most glamorous power couple and she’d won her first Pulitzer she’d had to choose how she wanted her other life to be. She regretted and yet loved the time that she’d spent as a non-person. It had given her freedom and had allowed her to experience so much of the real life that she'd craved. She’d met people that inspired her and challenged her. She’d grown and fought and learned and done things she couldn’t believe. But she’d missed out on other things: the team and their antics and growth and friction. Clark and Lois, both together and apart, with their growing destinies/careers. And, Oliver; Oliver with his despair and his struggle and his bad decision making. It had taken all of her strength to stay away. Now that she was back, she had to reconcile the two worlds.

She couldn’t fully be Watchtower anymore. That identity had sucked the reality of her life away and turned her into a virtual person. The power and the knowledge that it had given her was tempting and useful to more than just herself. She’d saved lives countless of times and done more good than ever before. But she hadn’t been able to be Chloe, hadn’t been able to be flesh and blood. She hadn’t been able to give herself to the people who loved her and love them fully in return. It was always going to be her calling and her purpose, just not full-time.

She still ran the JLA and was their eye in the sky. She spent a lot more time in the field though and organized things with the team when Oliver’s work kept him from doing it himself. But she also spent half of her time traveling, keeping up the contacts she’d made during her time away. She recruited new members, new locations, found new dangers, spotted new opportunities. She was the Watchtower of the world now and she was mobile.

Of course, sometimes she had to sit back and remind herself that she was married. She was a wife. She and Oliver were together forever now, no turning back if magic champagne had anything to say about it. Despite their nightly secret identities, (or in his case, not so much secret) they had to find time to spend with each other. One of their compromises was that Chloe could only travel where Oliver’s business trips took him and he could only travel with the team when her business took her the same direction. It didn't always work; emergencies weren't exactly nice about asking permission. Hours spent on a jet might not seem like quality time, but they were when spent on that jet. Air Force One paled in comparison, she was sure.

Chloe scanned the headlines and drank her coffee appreciatively. She’d had coffee from Morocco to Peru and she’d take this brand right here every time. Her phone rang and she picked it up.

“Hello.”

“Chloe, it’s Mia.”

Chloe straightened. She and Mia were not always on the best of terms. Mia respected Chloe’s position of authority on the team, but other than that, she seemed determined to have her own way. Perhaps she resented Chloe’s place in Oliver’s affections, but Chloe didn’t make it a point to try to find out. She was Oliver’s wife and, relationship-wise, that topped the totem pole and the disciple could suck it up. Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t love Oliver’s (for all intents and purposes) surrogate daughter.

“Hey, what can I do for you?”

“Tell Dinah she’s not the boss of me.”

“Who exactly is the boss of you?” Chloe asked, amused.

“Let’s not get technical,” Mia snapped. “Just get her off my back. I can do my homework all on my own, thanks. And I don’t need target practice help from a chick who wears fishnets.”

“Mia, we’ve talked about this. If it’s league business I’m all for helping you out, but you and Dinah are going to have to work out your relationship problems on your own. I’ve got about zero advice in that area.”

“I’m calling Oliver,” Mia said and hung up. 

Chloe sighed, put her phone back in her pocket, and finished her coffee. Her break was officially over and she had a full day ahead of her. She hadn’t seen Oliver in two days and if she was lucky, the time they’d carved out for themselves would be successfully enjoyed by both of them later that evening. 

Her phone buzzed and she flipped it up.

“Victor, what’s going on?”

*** 

Oliver opened the door to the bedroom and leant against the doorjamb while he undid his tie.

“So, I’m thinking we sell everything, buy an island - like Greenland or something because, let’s face it, I’ve had enough of the tropics - never answer another cell phone call as long as we live, and pretty much never leave the bedroom. Whaddaya think?”

Chloe poked her head out the bathroom door.

“Does it have cable?”

“The bedroom or the island?”

“Both.”

“Only on the weekends.”

“So the weekdays?”

“Are happy, fun days.”

Chloe came fully into the room, taking the pins out of her hair.

“You’re really happy with yourself, aren’t ya?”

He reached out and kissed her forehead, bringing his hands down to cup her waist.

“Not as happy with me as you are.”

“You wish,” she scoffed, reaching up for his neck.

“How long has it been?” he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.

“Forty two hours and six minutes,” she answered.

“The world isn’t worth it.”

“Liar,” she said affectionately. She pulled herself from him and led him over the bed, patting it. “Now, sit down and tell me about the deal before I forget and ask you at an inconvenient moment.”

He arched an eyebrow at her.

“What moment would that be?”

“You know the one,” she said, quirking her mouth at him.

His eyes took on a hazy look.

“That’s gotta be my favorite moment in the world.”

“Rates my top ten as well,” she said, sitting down on his lap. “Now, the deal. Be snappy.”

“It went through,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “We’re clear to use those shipping lanes. It’s really going to open up doors for us when we’re over there. The guys can get to work on the Salisbury problem.”

“I’m sure they’ll be thrilled,” Chloe said, lifting her head to give him better access. “AC’s been itching to hit that tanker for weeks now. Mera practically had to cuff him to the ocean floor to keep him restrained.”

“Now that that image has been burned indelibly into my brain,” Oliver said, “can we have that moment?”

“Oh, Ollie,” she said, practically purring, “you’ve no idea what moments I’ve got in store for you.”

The landline rang.

“Ignoring,” Oliver stated. 

Chloe wasn’t even paying attention, having moved hers to unbuttoning his shirt.

Oliver’s cell phone started to vibrate in his pocket.

“Ignoring,” Chloe said, pulling it out and pushing end.

He reached up and cupped her face in his hands, capturing her lips with his. She leant into the kiss and he relaxed inside. This was the time that he lived for. This was his reason for everything. If he didn’t have her he’d still be fighting, but he already knew what that was like and he didn’t want to ever experience it again. She made him stronger in ways he’d never thought possible. Her wit and joy and perseverance were his stepping stones to greatness and when they were alone together like this, it was all he could do to keep from flying up that ladder as she hauled him after her.

Chloe’s phone buzzed and Oliver rolled her over onto the bed away from it. The buzzing faded into the background and pretty soon he was lost in the beauty of being with her. That is until the laptop started to give off pinging sounds. The cell phones were vibrating in tandem. But all of that could be ignored until a pounding on the door sounded.

“One night off,” Oliver said, pulling away with reluctance. “Is that too much to ask for people who have ten thousand ways to get in touch with them?”

Chloe just sighed and started to get dressed again.

“By the way, I’m a little worried about Mia,” Oliver said, as he started to join her. “She’s getting…uppity.”

“She’s growing up,” Chloe said, matter-of-factly. “She’s had an enormous amount of adult experience in her young life and doesn’t always have to follow the rules. As the authority figure in her life as well as her patron you’re the bad guy. Good luck with that.”

“I love you so much,” Oliver said, kissing her soundly. “Nobody else can cram as much wisdom, insight, condescension, and lack of help into so short a speech.”

“You bet your boots,” she said and ruffled his hair on her way to answer the door.

“I love my boots,” he said in a wounded tone, following after her.

“Hey, Chloe, Oliver,” Victor said, entering the room. “Look, we know we promised you the night off. But Dinah’s gone off grid.”

“Let’s go,” Oliver said, grabbing his keys.

Chloe’s hand reached out for his on the way down the elevator.

***

Chloe watched Oliver peel off the leather and winced at the sight of the red marks scraped down his back.

“Honey,” she said, without trying to sugar coat it, “this is going to hurt.”

“I hate to break it to you, but it already does.”

“I could call Emil,” she offered.

“No, I don't want to bother him. He's got enough on his plate without getting his stomach upset with one of Bart's cross-country rides of fun.”

“Okay, then you get me and a bottle of antiseptic.”

“You, kinky woman, you.”

“You know me,” she said, “all about the bedroom.” 

They were back in their penthouse, having secured all of their secret lifestyle paraphernalia in the proper places and dismissed the rest of their weary band. 

It had been a long night. Dinah had been doing surveillance on one of their marks and he'd gotten the drop on her. She'd been taken to a warehouse on the other side of town and held there by heavy security forces. It had taken all of them to take them down and rescue her, a fact which Mia had been trumpeting about since they'd gotten home. A cat fight would surely have broken out had Chloe not sent Bart out to get them all food, made AC and Mera take a seething Dinah home, and given Victor strict instructions to take care of Mia while she helped Oliver who'd been side swiped down a wall of concrete while taking a hit meant for his apprentice.

Chloe had Oliver roll onto his stomach while she straddled his waist and tried to gently minister to his wounds.

“Not how I pictured you doing that tonight,” Oliver grunted.

“Try not to move,” she said. “You're squirming so much I'm going to fall off.”

He hissed as she got to a particularly deep scrape.

“Oh, I'm sorry, does my pain upset you?”

“No, but your whining does.” Oliver fell silent and Chloe inwardly sighed. She hadn't meant to get so snippy and she knew he had to be in a lot of pain. She also hadn't slept for thirty hours and she was a woman who was in vast need of caffeine if she was going to keep awake much longer. “I'm sorry,” she said, after a moment or two.

“Don't sweat it,” he answered with what she assumed he thought was a carefree tone. It sounded more like the death cry of a parakeet. She decided against telling him that and focused all of her attention on being the best nurse she could be. When she was finally finished, it was forty five minutes later and her arm was about to fall off. Oliver sat up and took a deep breath. “That's a lot better. Your turn.”

“I'm fine, Ollie.”

He chucked her gently under the chin.

“You can't lie to me, Chloe. I never let you out of my sight during these kinds of things.”

She sighed. Blast him and his over-protective streak that had saved her life a million times.

“My wrist hurts.”

He wrapped it for her carefully, taking extra time to caress and kiss as well as bandage and she appreciated it more than she could say.

“We'll get it checked out tomorrow,” he said in a tone that brooked no disapproval. 

Not that that had ever stopped her before.

“Oliver, I'm not going to freak out the denizens of Star City by getting something as simple as this checked out. You know perfectly well that ever since they found out you were Green Arrow, the paparazzi have all the hospitals staked out. If it's still bad in a couple of days I will personally bribe Bart into taking me to Emil and then coming back for you because your back will most likely have contracted gangrene and fallen off.”

“Do backs just fall off?” he asked, obviously trying to keep a straight face.

“They do when they belong to guys like you,” she said, pulling him closer and kissing his lips lightly.

“Fair enough,” he said, laying down and bringing her with him. “Now, can I have that cow you know I'm going to have?”

“Drat, I thought I was going to kiss my way out of that.”

“No chance, Chloe.”

“Proceed.” 

She spread her arm out magnanimously

He turned them so that they were facing each other and he was not on his back.

“I know things have been hard and I know we've done a lot of good, but it can't keep going like this. Obviously, I would never just leave one of my own out in the cold, but tonight would have gone a lot easier if we hadn't been running on pure adrenaline. I miss you. I miss it being just the two of us. I miss the world not knowing who I am. At this rate we'll never have time for kids. I know we're not a usual couple and I wouldn't want us to be, but next week is...” 

He stopped, obviously waiting for her to finish the sentence, a vulnerable look in his eyes. She rolled her own.

“It's our anniversary, Ollie; I'm not a complete moron.”

“Not a complete one,” he said genially. “But, for some reason, the orphaned, womanizing playboy is better at relationships than you.”

“That's on the harsh side, don't you think?” she asked.

“Come on, all I'm saying is that I want a real anniversary. I want a real vacation. I want real time with you. I love you.”

“And I love you, but I don't appreciate being told that I'm not as vested in this as you are. I did marry you, after all.” 

She knew that was a mistake the minute she'd said it.

“And how did that magical marriage come to be? Hmmm? We both know we still would have gone through with it, but a night we can't even remember is not the best foundation to base our relationship off of!”

“Don't you dare get mad at me for agreeing to marry you while under the influence!”

“Maybe you're the one who proposed.”

“Maybe I was. You're the ninnyhammer who said yes.”

“Ninnyhammer?” Oliver asked, his face breaking out into a smile. 

She couldn't help but start to chuckle and lean over and kiss him.

“Yes, you, ninnyhammer.”

“We really shouldn't fight when we get this tired. It's sad.”

“We generally are sad when we try to fight,” she reminded him.

“I've got a compromise in mind if you're interested.”

“I'm always interested in listening,” she said.

“For our anniversary we leave. Just take the jet and go. No JLA work, no articles, no board meetings. The team can figure out their own issues. We'll send Mia to stay with Lois and Clark. She and Connor can flirt and be awkward and J'onn can show her some Martian tricks or something. On our way to paradise we track down Zatanna and make her give us our memories back and then this whole marriage thing can finally get settled. Opinions?”

Chloe swallowed and looked pensive. 

“I don't know. Zatanna might whammy us or something.”

“We're experts at being whammied by her,” Oliver said.

“All by ourselves?” she asked hopefully.

“Very all by ourselves.”

“You've got a deal, Mr. Queen.”

“Oh good, Mrs. Queen,” he said, pulling her closer to him and kissing her neck.

***

Six collective fits were thrown when it was learned that Chloe and Oliver would be taking off for an entire two weeks and not allowed to be called unless it was life or death and that did not include when AC and Bart got into a fight.

Chloe had called Clark first thing the morning after she and Oliver had made the decision and asked him to cover for them. He had agreed and it was only after learning that, that the team calmed down a bit. Having Superman on your side was always a plus.

Lois had agreed to take charge of Mia and, while she complained to high heaven about being sent away, Oliver knew Mia was secretly thrilled to be able to spend time with Connor again. The two had hit it off the year before when Connor had come to live with Lois and Clark fulltime since Tess had died. Lois had demanded the right to call in many favors should she ever need them for doing it and Oliver simply rolled his eyes when Chloe told him that. Lois was forever chalking up favors. 

Oliver had just as difficult a time convincing his board members that he deserved the time off. But he'd been preparing for this for weeks and had things in such good shape that his secretary could run the company for a couple of weeks - not that she would, she had told him loftily. Oliver just smiled and left his office cell phone and pager on her desk before he went to meet Chloe at home. She'd been writing like crazy, getting all of her articles in a week before their deadlines

They both had been cleaning up the streets, working overtime to scare the criminals of Star City into taking it easy for awhile. They'd brought Victor up to speed on all of Chloe's programs and security measures. Chloe's network of people had been informed of her absence and they were to refer to Victor if they needed help as well as her second in command based in Turkey. They hadn't overlooked anything. He hoped.

Either way, they were actually sitting on the jet about to take off. Mia had arrived safely in Metropolis and called twice already to complain, but with such an unmistakable strain of excitement in her voice that Oliver didn't take it seriously. He simply told her he wouldn't answer any more calls or texts no matter how many explanation points she put in them. Courtney had agreed to hang out in Metropolis while they were gone since she was on a break from school and help out J'onn who was covering for Clark's absence. Chloe had hoped she would be a great help in keeping Mia preoccupied and, Oliver hoped, would keep Mia from being too preoccupied with Connor. He shook his head and tried to turn off his Mia-dad mode. Not an easy task on the best of days, but a lot easier when he was faced with the prospect of being completely alone with Chloe for two weeks. 

Of course Bart had shown up at the jet three times before takeoff with bribes to keep Chloe from leaving. He had threatened to follow them and so Chloe had simply kissed his cheek and told him that if he didn't leave them alone, she wouldn't talk to him ever again and she would pull his burrito stipend. Oliver suspected it was the former threat and not the latter that had gotten him to leave.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked his wife, clinking his glass of champagne against hers.

“More ready than you will ever know,” she returned, tipping the glass back. He watched in appreciation as she downed the whole thing. “One more for the road, bartender.”

“You got it, Mrs. Queen.”

As soon as they were high enough to take off their seatbelts, he stood up and stretched, marveling that, for once, he wasn't on the phone or looking over papers or schematics. Chloe got up too and wrapped her arm around his waist.

“Care for a stroll?”

“Just where will we be strolling?”

“This way,” she said, taking his hand and leading him back towards the bedroom area of the plane.

“I'm liking this direction,” he admitted, following willingly.

“So, Zatanna is where?”

“She's in Scotland of all places. I asked her what possible good her magic act would be out there and she just laughed. So, I shut up and asked if we could visit, pretty please.”

Chloe laughed and put her back against the wall, taking him with her. He dipped his head to get to her neck when her phone rang.

“I don't think so,” he said seriously as her hand started to reach for it.

“I told Lois she got one emergency phone call,” Chloe said, an apology in her voice.

“It better be an emergency,” Oliver said, sliding his hand up her shirt, having no intention of stopping no matter what Lois had to say.

“Hi, Lo,” Chloe said, her breath hitching. “This is your one phone a friend, you know. Next time you're just gonna have to poll the audience.” Oliver half-listened as he turned her around, kissing the nape of her neck and undoing the laces on the back of her shirt. “Mia's not allergic to shellfish,” Chloe said, her voice slightly high pitched as his fingers ghosted over her flesh. “She's just trying to get attention or impress Connor or something to that effect. She's almost a grown woman, Lois. If she gets sick it's her own fault and you take her to the hospital. Don't let her go on lead-hunts with you, don't let her and Connor go anywhere by themselves, and move back to the farm or something for the week. Gotta go. Bye.”

Chloe hung up the phone, obviously cutting Lois off, and flung it across the room. She grabbed Oliver and tugged him toward the bed.

“More. Now.”

Oliver just grinned and followed his wife's lead.

***

“Who knew nightclubs in Edinburgh would be so classy?” Chloe remarked as they entered the room.

“That sounded awfully snooty there, Chloe,” Oliver chided, a grin on his face.

“Sorry, but considering I spent most of my previous time in Scotland hiding in a basement with the rats for company, I think it's obvious why.”

“One of these days I'm going to lock you in a room and have you write your memoirs.”

“I could give away an awful lot of secrets,” she warned.

“We'll change the names. It's all good.”

She just laughed and led him to the table reserved for them. She felt relaxed. That was the best flight she'd ever had and they'd had some good ones. She was dressed to the nines in a surprisingly comfortable dress and her husband was hers for a whole fortnight.

Oliver checked the bottle of champagne for any Zatanna seals before letting the waiter open the bottle and Chloe smirked.

“You know she doesn't actually need champagne, right?”

“No harm in checking your bases,” he protested. “You know how it is, fool me twice, shame on me and all that.”

“You can't go around checking every bottle of champagne your whole life. Take a moment and think about how much champagne you're practically required to drink by billionaire law.”

“Billionaire law?” She just smiled at him. He sighed and continued his original point. “No, I won't check every bottle, but when I'm sitting down to actually watch her act, I'm gonna and you'll just have to put up with it.”

She swatted his arm and lifted her glass for the waiter.

They'd been sitting there, chatting and enjoying themselves for about a half an hour when the lights dimmed and Zatanna's act was announced. She came out on stage, looked down at them and deliberately winked before commencing with the show. It was really good. She was the perfect blend of stage magician and real life magic using her natural wit and sass to charm her audience while dazzling them with effects. They stood and clapped at the end with the rest of the crowd. Zatanna bowed and waved before leaving.

They reseated themselves and had enjoyed their dessert before their waiter came back to their table.

“Excuse me, sir, madam; Mistress Zatanna has requested your presence backstage.”

“Who are we to refuse Mistress Zatanna?” Chloe asked, wide-eyed. 

Oliver emulated her look and slipped a hand under her arm as they walked backstage. Zatanna's dressing room was quite large and comfortable and, surprisingly, very pink. She stood up to greet them and dismissed the waiter with a wave.

“Well, hello there. And how are the newlyweds?”

“We've been married for quite some time now,” Chloe said, accepting the woman's hug.

“Not officially,” she returned, hugging Oliver a little longer than Chloe would have liked. 

But she knew Zatanna did everything she did for a reason and most of the time that reason was to annoy someone. So Chloe simply arched an eyebrow and took a seat on the couch while Zatanna returned to her dressing table. Oliver sat down next to Chloe and slipped an arm around the back of her shoulders.

“Well, it would have looked a little odd if we'd just shown up in Star City married,” Oliver said. “Not like we could tell people we'd done it under the influence of bespelled liquor.”

“It would have made quite an impression on the tabloids,” Zatanna said, grinning. “But I'm glad to see it stuck.”

“We're very happy,” Chloe said. “I'd still like to know exactly what happened, however.”

“There's a reason your memories are gone, Chloe. So much fun, so many un-inhibited activities; it could blow your minds.”

“It was also extremely dangerous! Lois bet her engagement ring, Clark committed crimes, and Emil got kidnapped and beaten!” 

Zatanna had the decency to look somewhat contrite.

“I am sorry about that. Listen, that wasn't the intent. You guys were a little more pent-up than even I'd given you credit for.”

Oliver narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“I just wanted to give you guys a good time, but the spell works at loosening the restraints you hold on yourselves. You guys were wound up so tight that the spell was way more lethal than I'd intended.”

“You could have warned us.”

“I'm not a fool, honey,” Zatanna said. “You wouldn't have touched it. That's not the point. I was keeping an eye on things. Luckily, all of the consequences happened when you were back to yourselves. I'm just glad I missed cleanup duty.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“I'm so glad you didn't have to wake up with a killer headache and the worst wedding dress from the 80s ever stitched, but that's not why we're here. We need to know what happened that night.”

“Didn't you lovely things record the whole show?”

“Yes, we did. Unfortunately, most of the footage is ruined beyond even my or Vic's capability to fix. So, we need the actual memories back.”

“What makes you think I can do that?” Zatanna asked, leaning back and stretching nonchalantly.

“Because you just asked me that question,” Chloe said triumphantly. 

She felt Oliver squeeze her shoulder and relaxed against him.

Zatanna laughed a little.

“You are a sharp one, Chloe, I'll give you that. Tell me why you want to know.”

“That's personal,” Oliver said. “They're our memories and we'd like them back.”

“Aren't you worried about the consequences?”

“Frankly, yeah,” he said, “but that night formed the rest of our future. If it turns out to be a sham wedding we'll just do it again. We just need to know what thought processes led to such a decision. Think of it as our own spiritual walkabout.”

“In Scotland, nice.”

“When in Rome,” Chloe said and Oliver poked her, but she ignored it. 

They were there for a purpose, if only to appease any lingering doubt Oliver had about their marriage. She, she was just fine. She'd screwed up so much with him, and if this would help him realize she was never leaving him again, she was going to do it.

“Okay,” Zatanna said, “I admit I did leave a backdoor of sorts in the spell.”

“Back door?” Oliver queried.

“I'm not totally reckless and irresponsible,” she said with a smirk. “I do know how to cover my ass. If something absolutely catastrophic happened that night and that knowledge was absolutely life or death I figured you'd need to know about it. This might not be life or death, but I'll give it to you.”

“Well?” Oliver raised his eyebrows.

“Not so fast,” she said. “When you lie down in your pretty little dreams tonight it will come back to you. Tomorrow comes the fallout.”

Oliver and Chloe looked at each other and stood up. They bid Zatanna goodnight and thank you and retired to their hotel room.

“Why do I feel like I just signed my life away?” Oliver asked.

“Probably because this is Zatanna we're talking about,” Chloe responded, beginning to brush her teeth.

“Wanna tire me out before we face the music?” he offered, grinning. 

She looked him up and down, grinning, and put down her toothbrush. How could she refuse an offer like that?


	2. Marriages Are Made of This

_Oliver wrapped his arm around Chloe and took another sip from his champagne glass. They were all staying at the Kent farm until the champagne ran out before going on to their separate nights. The longer he got to stay with Chloe, the better. It was still hard for him to let her out of his sight. He knew he couldn’t hold onto her forever. She was her own person and she’d changed while she was away. His being possessive wouldn’t help keep her in Metropolis. But he’d been broken and alone for so long and to finally have her within his reach again, well, he couldn’t let go of that. She smiled up at him and he could feel his body loosening with the joy he could see in her eyes. That joy was somehow being transferred to him and he felt his own smile start to grow._

_“Hey, guys, guys,” Lois said loudly, breaking into his internal monologue. “Guys, we should stay here. Like, all of us.”_

_“I agree,” Tess said. “Segregation is stupid.” She giggled into her own glass and almost fell backwards but Emil caught her, practically braining her in the head with the camera. Everyone started laughing at the sight._

_“More champagne!” Chloe declared, pouring more into Oliver’s glass and he couldn’t have agreed more._

_“Music!” Lois shouted. “I want hair metal!”_

_“No!” they all shouted in tandem. She pouted and ran her hands down Clark’s chest._

_“Not even for your fiancée on her bachelorette night?”_

_“Lois,” Clark said, looking like he was having trouble focusing on her, “I will do anything for you. I’ll run to Zan-Zanzibar, I’ll wear glasses, I’ll get you some pearls, some diamonds, you want the Crown Jewels?” He hiccoughed and didn’t wait for her response. “But I will not listen to hair metal.”_

_“Could you at least start a fire or something, it’s freezing in here.”_

_They all ducked and covered as fire bolts shot across the room. Oliver landed on top of Chloe and looked deep into her eyes. Dimly he could hear Lois running for a fire extinguisher, people talking, and the sounds of things being knocked over, but all he could see was Chloe._

_“Hey, beautiful,” he said, “whatcha doing tonight?”_

_“This and that,” she said._

_“You wanna do this and that with me?”_

_“I could do this and that with you forever.”_

_“Forever?”_

_“Yeah, totally forever.”_

_He grinned and moved toward her lips, forgetting everyone else in the room._

_“Ollie,” she whispered, “you’re squashing me all squashed.”_

_He blinked, trying to figure that out and then leapt up, extending his hand to her. He overestimated his strength and sent her sailing into Tess who simply giggled and gave Chloe a hug. Now there was a sight he thought he’d never see. Never ever._

_He shambled over to Emil, who'd somehow lost both his camera and permanently serious expression, and slung his arm around him._

_“It doesn’t even affect me.” Then gravity started to betray him and he could hear Chloe’s hysterical laughter from somewhere above him._

_  
***_

_  
Chloe blinked a little and tried to remember why she was so cold. When her vision stopped swimming she saw she was standing outside on the Kent porch. Tess and Emil were having a thumb wrestling contest on the railing and Lois was attempting a cartwheel in the yard, giving everyone an unneeded view of the bride-to-be's underwear choices for the evening._

_“Ollie,” Chloe called, “Ollie, I’m cold.”_

_There was a whooshing sound and a jacket dropped around her shoulders. She turned around, expecting to see Clark, but it was Oliver standing there, grinning._

_“I got whooshed,” he said. He had his cell phone in hand and clicked it closed. “Your carriage, m’lady.”_

_“I’m a lady,” she said proudly and turned around again. She clapped her hands in glee at the sight of the stretch Hummer waiting for them._

_The others all yelled their own approval and after grabbing a few more bottles of champagne, they all climbed inside their transportation._

_“Why are we leaving again?” Tess asked, while they all rummaged around inside the vehicle, throwing things around and exclaiming at their finds._

_“Because the farm is boring,” Clark said firmly. “Farms are boring. Smallville is boring. We want exciting.”_

_“Smallville’s right,” Lois slurred._

_“I can think of some exciting things to do,” Oliver whispered in Chloe’s ear and she shivered. She wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the others._

_“Whisper them to me?”_

_He did and she giggled with approval at all of them, feeling very hot all of a sudden. She had a brief desire to drag Oliver down to the unoccupied end of the car where it was mostly dark and the others could just deal with it. But she had some sense of rationality; at least, she thought she did._

_“We can do that later,” she said. “We have the rest of our lives to do that.”_

_“The rest of our lives?” he asked. “Are you sure?”_

_“Of course I’m sure; I love you, Ollie Arrow.”_

_He gave her a silly smile._

_“But you left, remember? You want the whole world. You want more than this provincial life.”_

_“You’ve been watching Disney again,” she cackled and he joined her._

_“I’m not gonna hold you back,” he assured her._

_“Don’t you want me to stay?” she asked, suddenly feeling morose._

_Then he was kissing her and she could barely breathe, but she didn’t want him to stop._

_“I want you to stay,” he said. “I want you to be with me forever. Forever.”_

_“Me too,” she said._

_“Then it’s forever,” he said, clinking his glass to hers._

_“Forever and ever.”_

_“Forever and ever.”_

_“Forever and ever.”_

_“Stop it!” cried Tess, leaning up against Chloe. “You’re forever-ing me out of my fun.”_

_“This is love, M-Mercy,” Oliver said. “It’s what love is.”_

_“I don’t know love,” she said sadly and Chloe patted her arm in sympathy._

_Suddenly Emil was there and he got right up in Tess’ face._

_“You’ve loved,” he said, practically shouting. “You’ll love again. I’m a doctor.”_

_They all burst out laughing at that and then Chloe turned to Oliver and found he was looking at her. In that instant she discovered her true purpose._

_“We should get married!” they shouted together._

_And Chloe knew that it would be the best decision they’d ever made._

_***_

_Lois sat on top of the car and cheered for the camera. Oliver tried his best to understand what she was saying but he couldn’t. Not that he was interested in Lois anymore, nope, no more Lois. He wanted to know what Chloe was doing. She was, she’d gone somewhere, where?_

_“Tess said she knew just the thing,” Lois shouted down to Oliver. “They’ll be back and she’ll be perfect. Do you hear me?” she screamed, “perfect!”_

_Oliver grinned at the thought of Chloe getting ready to get married to him._

_“What about me?” he asked Clark, feeling slightly more clear-headed than he had been. It had been at least half an hour since he’d drank anything which was something he thought he should probably rectify._

_“What about you?” Clark said, turning from his attempts to get Lois to come down._

_“What about my looks?” Oliver said. “I can’t get married like this. It’s gotta be special, man, it’s gotta be memorable. Like, like, it should be green!”_

_“Green,” Emil said, throwing his hands up and almost dropping the camera. “I know the perfect green. I know it.”_

_“Take me to it, man.”_

_Emil and Clark and Oliver went off while Lois turned the radio station on and fiddled with it until she found the right song and started dancing on top of the car._

_“Clark, Clark,” Oliver said. “You’re my best man.”_

_“You’re my best man,” Clark said, hugging Oliver. “You’re the best man.”_

_“Yeah, but, Clark, you’re my best man. Right now.”_

_“Oh, right now. Okay. Okay, I’ll get rings.”_

_“Rings are good.”_

_Emil almost tripped and Oliver caught him._

_“You’re groomsman, kay, buddy?”_

_Emil choked up on his response and Oliver sighed, putting his arm around the man’s shoulders._

_“The guys are gonna be pissed,” Clark said suddenly, laughing._

_“Yeah,” Oliver agreed, laughing too at the thought of what Bart, Victor and AC would say when he showed up married to Chloe and he hadn’t included them._

_“You could wait,” Emil suggested._

_“No,” Oliver said, resolution in his voice, “Chloe and I are forever and I don’t want to wait another minute.”_

_  
***_

_  
Chloe clapped her hands in joy and let Tess and Lois fuss with her hair some more._

_“I should be really mad at you right now,” Lois said, but her hands didn’t falter once._

_“I know, Lo,” Chloe said and started to inadvertently giggle at her rhyme._

_“I’m serious,” Lois said. “I’m the bride-to-be and you’re cutting in on my dance.”_

_“I know, L-“_

_“Don’t say it!”_

_“Fine, I’m AWARE of that. But I can’t put this off, Lois. You’re going to get a big day and lots of people and lots of presents, but I don’t even really exist. I’m just a nobody.”_

_“You’re not nobody, Chloe,” Tess put in. “You’re essential. We’d all be dead if it wasn’t for you, millions of times. Millions.”_

_“But I don’t exist.”_

_“That’s not the point,” Lois said, stepping back to critique her work. “The point is that you’re you and you’ve been you forever and you’ll be you forever and Ollie loves you and he’ll love you forever. It’s forever, cuz.”_

_“That’s why it has to be now,” Chloe whispered, looking at herself in the women’s bathroom mirror at the Chapel of Love in downtown Metropolis. “I’ve wasted enough of forever.”_

_“Then let’s get the groom.”_

_“No, no, there’s two more things I have to get. Without them I can’t get married.”_

_“What?” Tess asked, putting her fingers out as if expecting a tangible answer._

_“ID.”_

_“But you don’t exist.” Tess' face turned thoughtful. “Which might actually put a crimp on this marriage thing if I think about it.”_

_“I kinda exist,” Chloe said, starting to smile. She started running toward the door and then the Hummer. “I kept my birth certificate and my yearbook. They’re in a super secret place. Shh, let’s go.”_

_“Girl cat burglary time,” Lois crowed, running after her cousin. Tess ran past her and joined a laughing Chloe in the car. Chloe smiled and gestured to the driver to carry herself and her groom-to-be's two ex-girlfriends/her current bridesmaids off on a merry adventure._

_***_

_Oliver looked with pride at his new jacket. Now this was fitting. This was the right color to be married in at his wedding. Green Arrow and Watchtower in wedded, green bliss. He checked his hair quickly and almost fell over. Clark caught him and then lifted him up and set him on his feet again._

_“I’ve got rings!” he said triumphantly. “I’m the best man.”_

_Oliver eagerly turned to look at the items that were to be the symbol of his and Chloe’s eternal love._

_He glared in his inspection while Clark attempted a sales pitch._

_“Oh, this is good, now, look at this one, this one…”_

_“Now, we’re two different-“ Oliver stopped as Clark’s fist almost brained his head. “Now, you’re not thinking this through, okay? Now these are, these are-how much did this cost you?_

_“Nothing.”_

_“That’s a woman’s ring! Alright? These are twenty dollar rings out of a vending machine. She deserves better than that-better than that. Right?” Oliver turned to see Emil with his blasted camera still in his face. “How about a little privacy there, Blairwitch? Now!” He put his hand over the camera and pushed before turning back to Clark. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in that thing.”_

_Clark smirked as he tried to pull it off._

_“It’s stuck,” he said and laughed._

_Oliver struck his hand to his forehead dramatically._

_“I’m the groom now, Clark. Don’t go trying on the awful rings you picked out for me and my bride.”_

_“I seriously can’t get it off,” Clark said, laughing almost hysterically._

_“You’re like, like a superman,” Oliver said, blinking. “Be super-strength guy. Come on.”_

_“I feel like I might rip my finger off,” Clark said seriously. “I’ll just, we’ll just leave it.” His face brightened. “Maybe Lois will like it.”_

_Oliver shook his head._

_“Thank God I’m a former billionaire with taste.”_

_“You’ve got Chloe,” Clark said, nodding sagely. Emil also nodded his head in agreement._

_“A gem,” he said, his voice pitched loudly, then he started to sing to himself. Oliver shook his head and focused on Clark._

_“She’s mine,” he said, swaying a little. “Mine cause she wants to be. Cause she’s a gem.”_

_“I said it!” Email said loudly behind them._

_“I just need to get good rings,” Oliver said. “I need good rings for a good woman. It doesn’t have be really fancy; that’s not Chloe. I’ve never had to shower her with things. She, she just wanted me. She wants someone who gets her,” he said, almost to himself, remembering back when he’d heard her tell him that._

_“I didn’t,” Clark said, solemnly, “but you do. And this ring speaks getting fluently.”_

_Oliver sighed and grabbed the ring from Clark’s hand. He would get her whatever ring she wanted. In the meantime, his ring was stuck on Clark’s finger._

_***_

_When Chloe finally arrived at the chapel, ready for the rest of her life, she was annoyed to find Oliver nowhere to be seen and Clark standing up at the front._

_“A word,” she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him back down the aisle. Clark blinked owlishly at her._

_“You're really strong,” he said._

_“Thank you. Listen, Clark, I know there's a lot of history in the Chloe/Clark department, but that does not mean that I want to be Mrs. the Blur for the rest of my life. Where's Oliver, the guy I want at the altar?”_

_“The preacher guy told me to stand there,” Clark protested. “Oliver's arranging everything.”_

_Chloe's ire melted away and she started to laugh, especially when the most brilliant idea she'd ever had came to her._

_“We should totally play a prank on Lois,” she said._

_“Like how?” Clark asked warily._

_“Sh,” Chloe said, beckoning him to come with her, “Lois is still primping.”_

_They tiptoed to the office where they found Oliver arguing with the clerk on duty about the chapel policy that only chapel employees could officially be witnesses, despite whoever was standing up for the bride and groom. Chloe just stopped for a minute and admired the belligerence she was about to bind herself to. He was amazingly stubborn. So was she. They were going to have some fantastic battles in the future, but the thought didn't faze her a bit._

_“Ollie,” she called. He turned around immediately, faced the wrong direction and then shook his head._

_“Over here,” Clark said._

_Oliver turned the right way and the smile that came over his face when he saw her was magnificent._

_“My blushing bride,” he hiccoughed._

_“My minty-fresh groom,” she replied. He kissed her and she could've stayed like that for awhile if Clark hadn't butted in._

_“What's the plan, Chloe?”_

_“Oh, the plan,” she said, pushing Oliver away before bringing them both in close and explaining. Oliver's eyes narrowed when he heard it._

_“You're not trying to satisfy some old dream with a fake scenario, are you?”_

_“No,” she said, quietly and simply, and glared at him._

_“Right,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and backing off. “Good enough for me.”_

_She smiled only on the inside. Now was the time for sneaky, bad ass Chloe, not melting, simpering bride Chloe._

_When Lois walked into the room with Tess and Emil, Chloe was standing at the back of the chapel and Oliver and Clark were at the altar. Emil hastened up to the front and Tess started down the aisle, followed by Lois. Chloe went next and before she'd gotten to the front she heard a great squawk from Lois._

_“Wrong places, wrong places,” she hissed at the guys._

_Oliver and Clark looked at their respective groomsman, groom places and shook their heads._

_“We decided to switch,” Oliver said._

_“Chloe!” Lois yelled._

_“We did,” Chloe said, smiling. “It's better this way. Blonde and brunette, blonde and brunette.”_

_Lois glared daggers and Chloe couldn't hold the laughter in anymore. All three of them burst out laughing and then everyone changed places while Lois vowed revenge all throughout the ceremony._

_“Do you, Chloe Anne Sullivan, take this man...”_

_“Do you, Oliver Jonas Queen, take this woman...”_

_Chloe listened to the words in a bit of a haze. To be honest it was hard to concentrate. But she did know this was the happiest she'd ever been. She couldn't regret the night, the timing, even the loss of important people like her dad, Lana or the team. Maybe they should've considered Mia, but the girl was in school on the other side of the country. This was right and Chloe had waited a long enough time for happiness. She was going to get it. This marriage may not have been meticulously arranged like her last one, but she was fairly confident no Kryptonian monsters were going to crash it._

_“I now pronounce you man and wife.” Chloe snapped from her thoughts and launched herself at Oliver, kissing him thoroughly. Even the crappy wedding ring didn't matter, only him._

_  
***_

_Oliver carried his bride over the threshold of the chapel and then promptly dropped her on her ass when he saw the Hummer's new decorative theme._

_“Yes!” he cried. “It's perfect.”_

_Lois and Tess beamed as they came outside and saw him appreciating their handiwork._

_“It was nothing.”_

_“We used your credit card,” Tess said, laughing. Oliver wasn't even annoyed. He was used to being the meal ticket of the group. True, he didn’t really have any money anymore. That’s what happens when there are things like hostile takeovers, but nothing was too good for his and Chloe's night. And as much as he wanted to be alone with her right now, he also wanted to celebrate._

_“More champagne,” he cried, getting into the car. Everyone piled in after him, and they all drank a toast to the newly wedded couple._

_They made a quick stop to sing karaoke at Emil’s insistence and it soon became apparent that it was his true calling in life. He gained the owner’s card within minutes and promised to stop back later._

_But with the renewed rowdiness it became quickly apparent that karaoke was no place for them. They wandered the streets for a little bit and decided it was time for some entertainment. Clark disappeared in a flash and returned with the Luthercorp sign._

_“Who's got a permanent marker?” asked Tess. Clark disappeared again and then handed her one when he reappeared._

_They all took turns scribbling rude things on the sign before Clark whisked it away somewhere._

_“Monkey,” Clark suddenly said, pointing._

_“Oh, monkey!” squealed Chloe, hurrying over to the armored truck in the midst of a holdup._

_“Watch this,” Clark said and the car was gone while the two men doing the robbery were sprawled out behind their intended victim who was looking quite confused._

_“Ta da!” Chloe cried, dancing around in the place where the truck had been. Oliver felt like he needed to do something, but Clark had already taken care of it, and that wasn't his first priority anymore. No, his first priority was getting Lois alone so he could ask her something._

_“I need your help,” he told her urgently and they tiptoed off, even when Chloe and Tess asked them where they were going._

_“What's the big emergency, cuz-in-law?” Lois asked, slightly in his face._

_“I didn't get Chloe anything.”_

_“It's not like you had a month to plan,” she told him. “She won't care.”_

_“But I wanna,” he whined. She rolled her eyes._

_“Fine, we'll go do something and then I'll help. Okay?”_

_“It's a done deal,” he said, shaking her hand and then they rejoined the group where Clark had introduced the new member of their crew, Dr. Lemur._

_“We need to go do something,” Lois insisted._

_“A place with a bedroom,” Chloe said, looking at Oliver with eyes that made him want to take her right there and be done with it._

_“Casino!” Lois shouted. “I'm feeling lucky tonight.”_

_Everyone agreed that it was the best idea they'd ever had and the driver was told to take them to the best gambling casino with a hotel (and an Elvis impersonator, chimed in Emil) that there was in Metropolis._

_When they got there and Emil quickly became more popular than the resident impersonator and got his own two groupies and a costume, the others decided that wasn't necessarily the best thing. Tess thought differently and quickly used Oliver's credit card to buy herself a June Carter Cash-esque dress and tried to join Emil on stage._

_Oliver drew Chloe aside while Lois started gambling and Clark watched uneasily._

_“I want to show you something,” he murmured in her ear._

_“I can see that later,” she said, giggling._

_“No, something else,” he insisted. “It's a new trick. An Arrow trick.”_

_“Okay,” Chloe said, wrapping her arm around his waist as they walked away._

_He took her to a dimly lit corner and then showed her the toy bow and arrow he'd gotten in the gift shop. He didn't know why they were selling those, but he was okay with that. He'd figured out the best wedding gift ever and he'd done it without Lois Lane's help, thank you very much._

_“I'm going to make the most incredible shot in the world with the worst bow and arrow in the world,” he told her. “All to prove my love for you.”_

_“Ollie, listen to me,” Chloe said urgently and he immediately stopped because whenever she used that tone of voice he felt like falling down at her feet._

_“Yes?”_

_“You already proved that when you asked me to be Watchtower and when you tried to protect me from Doomsday and when you taught me how to shoot and when you bought me a spoon and a satellite and crawled through ducts and when you tried to find me and when you let me go and when you trusted me enough to leap off a building and when you let me steal a dinner reservation and then came to rescue me and every day when you always get me and know exactly who I am.”_

_Oliver blinked, he'd had a little trouble following all of that but he got the gist of it._

_“How about when you risk your life for me and bury me alive to teach me a point and fix me up after I've been thrown through a window and go on hidden weekends with me cause I'm too famous and trade your life for mine and erase your whole life so you can keep me safe and rescue me from virtual worlds and get kidnapped when I'm being stupid and don't berate me for it and when you agreed to be my wife?”_

_“We're really weird,” she said._

_“Yeah. Now for the demonstration!” He drew the bow back dramatically and tried to focus, forgetting where his target was supposed to be and he ended up hitting a security guard square between the eyes, breaking the bow and bursting out into laughter. He quickly shoved the bow in her hands and stepped in front of her._

_“It was the blonde in the stupid dress,” a guard from behind them yelled. Chloe turned around, ire on her face._

_“This is the most beautiful dress I've ever had,” she said, taking the guard out. “Don't you dare mock my wedding dress!”_

_Oliver smiled with pride and groaned as Chloe started a brawl._

_“Run away!” he cried out, catching Lois’ and Clark's attention. Lois was starting her own brawl over the loss of her engagement ring._

_In the melee that broke out, Tess and Emil somehow got left behind or they’d gone somewhere. Either way the Hummer was gone when they got outside the casino._

_“Split up!” Chloe cried. Oliver and Lois banked left while Chloe and Clark turned right._

_“Meet you later,” Oliver cried out._

_“For the rest of our lives,” Chloe answered, waving her newly ringed hand back in response._

***

Chloe slowly fluttered her eyes open, almost feeling like she had again woken up from that strange night, thankfully without the headache. She rolled over, rubbing her eyes and stared at Oliver for a moment. He wasn’t awake yet. He was very pretty in the mornings and she could probably look at him all day; in fact, she wanted to look at him all day. That hadn’t changed. It was a startling thought for her sleepy mind, but she realized nothing had actually changed. The love she felt for him was just as strong as it had been before she remembered. But she was glad they had done this; she was glad they’d remembered the wonderful and awful things that had happened that night. She groaned a little, recalling some of them. Now that she had the memories, she could feel what it had been like, not just watch herself in fragments on a screen, feeling like it hadn't really been her. Some of the things she’d said and done were so very stupid, but she realized a lot of them had come from her heart and were the things she’d always been too afraid or too mad to say.

“I’ll hand you this one, Zatanna,” she said thoughtfully, “we really were wound up tight.”

“Cigar for you, honey,” said a voice from behind her. Chloe spun around too fast, whacking Oliver on the head.

He was out of the bed in a flash, holding the sheet around him and brandishing the phone as a weapon. Chloe had to laugh a little. He made quite a picture, like the Adonis of phone vengeance.

“Easy there, Robin,” Zatanna said, holding up her hands. She was still dressed like she was about to go on stage. “Just checking in to see how the transplant took.”

Oliver put the phone down and yawned, climbing back in bed behind Chloe, wrapping an arm around her waist and putting his head on her lap.

“S’wonderful. Now go away.”

“He’s always a little grumpy in the mornings,” Chloe told Zatanna, patting the blonde head in her lap.

“So, what did we learn?”

“That you are a confounded nuisance,” Oliver growled, turning his head the other way.

Chloe smiled.

“We learned that there was nothing to learn. I’m really glad we did it, but it doesn’t change anything. I’m very grateful for your help.”

Oliver lifted his head up.

“Really?” he asked. “You’re grateful for all of that?”

“Yeah.” Chloe’s heart stopped for just a second. “Aren’t you?”

He looked at her for a second and then tilted his head.

“What do you think?”

“I think you’re insufferable,” she said and turned back to Zatanna. “Really, thank you. We’ll be leaving this afternoon to go on our much deserved vacation, so good luck on the show tonight.”

“Mmmm,” said Oliver, buried back in the bed.

Zatanna smirked and turned to leave.

“Just try not to mess it up,” she said and shut the door.

The phone started to ring as soon as she was gone. Oliver picked it up and looked like he was going to throw it across the room but Chloe rescued it and said hello.

“Uh, Mrs. Queen?”

“This is she, she of the Mrs. Queens.”

“Okay…this is the front desk. You, you have 25 messages, would you like to hear them?”

“What’s the first and last one?”

“The first says: Hope you’re having a good time, the kid is driving me crazy. Love, Lois. The last says: Argentina’s wide open and we’re going in.”

Chloe’s eyes widened.

“Second to last?”

“Bring me back stuff, Bart.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Thank you. Please don’t send any more messages through.” They had their personal cell phones and she would check those next. Anything truly important would be there and with more details.

“Okay, ma’am.”

Chloe hung up the phone and checked her phone's messages, revealing no urgent requests for backup and then shook Oliver.

“Ollie, they’ve gone into Argentina.”

“What?” Oliver opened his eyes, instantly awake. “That wasn’t scheduled for another month.”

“That’s what the message said.”

“Did anything happen? Should we go?”

Chloe shook her head, a slow smile heading across her face.

“No offense to us, but what can we do that Superman can’t?”

Oliver sat up, his gaze moving over her tousled hair and earnest face.

“Good point, Mrs. Queen.” He slowly reached his hand across her stomach, sliding it around her back as he kissed her.

“Good morning,” she said, kissing him back.

“It’s the best morning,” he agreed.

“I meant what I said,” she whispered. “It was all worth it.”

“I know,” he said. “But did I have to wear that jacket?”

“Hey, you woke up in that jacket, you already knew about it. How about we dish about the things we didn’t know?”

“Well,” he said, smirking, “neither of us proposed.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said, kissing his shoulder.

“I agree,” he said, putting his nose on her cheek.

“That’s cold,” she said, pushing him away. He pulled her with him and she landed on top of him at the foot of the bed.

“I’ve never had complaints yet,” he told her.

“Well, I guess I can attest to that,” she said. “But hold on, none of that till we get the debrief out of way.”

“This isn’t a mission, Chloe,” he protested. “I mean, I don’t really know what to say here. I’m relieved that it happened the way it did. By the way, how did you end up back in Clark’s closet?”

She groaned.

“We went back there to hide out from the cops and then Clark started complaining about how he didn’t know how to dance for his wedding and we put the music on and then the monkey got out and then I think Clark heard a noise and shoved me in there. Maybe I hit my head or it all just finally hit me and I dozed off.”

“What a way to spend your wedding night.”

“Tell me about it because, apparently, my groom as of four hours was taking a nap on the tracks with his ex-girlfriend and my maid of honor.”

“I don’t even know how we got there,” Oliver said, rubbing his face. “I’m surprised we didn’t get run over. I remember running, Lois putting up a big fit the whole time, no shock there, and then there was this homeless woman with big feet.”

“I guess some things are true blackouts,” she said, rubbing her nose against his. “We can’t all get away with perfect recall.”

“Hey,” he said, “I know I’ve been on my share of binges, but you’re always there to pull me out of them.”

“You won’t ever have to go on another one,” she told him.

“I’m so thankful for you,” he said, his voice breaking a little. “You’ve saved my life in so many ways.”

“We’ve been over this,” she reminded him, “we save each other.”

“Every day.”

“Forever and ever,” she reminded him and he laughed, then sobered up.

"I also have no idea how the license got torn in half."

"Cat fight with Lois and Tess," Chloe said calmly. He looked askance at her and she just smiled. He shook his head and changed the subject.

“That was weird, seeing Tess again.”

“It was like she was alive,” Chloe agreed. He buried his head in her shoulder and took a deep breath and she put her hand on his head, holding him to her. She knew how hard Tess’ death had been on him, how he felt like he hadn’t been there for her and that if only he hadn’t been infected with the darkness, Tess would have been at the wedding with the rest of them and the Luthor kidnapping would never have happened. She hadn’t been able to assuage him of that guilt yet, but she was trying. She missed Tess too, surprisingly.

“That was the one bad thing about last night,” she said. “Or that night or however this recall thing works.”

“No, no,” he said, coming up for air, “no, I loved seeing her like that. So happy, like when I first met her. And I know she changed. Now I have happy memories of her. Maybe we could have Emil contact Zatanna and she could give him back his memories of that night.”

“We can ask,” she said, “but I’m not sure he’s ready for that.”

“Yeah.”

“Ollie?”

“Hmm?”

“Are we okay now? Are we going to have large fights about the past and the present?”

“We never fight about the future, do we?” he mused.

“No, apparently we bought stock in only two of the three tenses.”

“Not like we can’t afford the third,” he offered.

“I think we should sell the two we have,” she told him.

“I agree. And yes, we are okay. I never doubted your love for me now, but after knowing what happened that night, I can’t doubt then either. It’s you and me, Sullivan, to the world’s end. You're stuck with me.”

“You forget I changed my name that night,” she told him, dipping her head closer to his.

“I can’t ever forget that night again,” he assured her, capturing her lips with his, caressing them with a tenderness that she was used to, yet felt anew. She lowered herself to feel more of him because, at that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be with him wholly and forever.

  
***

Oliver held onto Chloe’s hand as they stepped onto the jet.

“Do we hafta?” he asked, like a petulant child.

“We’re going home, Ollie, not to jail.”

“Been there, done that, as long as we have our own cell, I’m good.” She simply smiled at him and took her seat as the jet prepared to take off.

“We have to go home sometime and there is a world out there that needs us and Mia needs us and Clark needs to get back to his own duties and now that Argentina’s been taken care of in our absence we’ll have a lot more time to do the things we need to and be there for each other.”

“You make it all sound so easy,” he grumbled, sitting next to her.

“It’s not, but that’s what we do,” she said. “Now do I have to be the adult the entire way or are you gonna take a turn?”

“I always take turns,” he said. “I’m one of the most generous billionaires in the world.”

She rolled her eyes.

Oliver stretched and felt relaxed. It had been some of the most amazing weeks of his life. After he and Chloe had recovered their memories they’d done practically nothing but stay in with each other. They'd both been worried about the Argentina mission and checked their phones frequently, but other than a few terse messages from Victor saying that they'd all made it out okay, the only messages had been from a raving Lois about how she wasn't ready to have kids yet, yet alone teenagers. They were both relieved and strangely surprised that the team had cut back on their attempts to contact them. Oliver had suggested some sort of illegal experimentation had been done on them. Chloe had laughed and told him not to be paranoid.

So, he'd stopped worrying about his team and they had gone on some walks and some picnics and done some sight seeing and they’d brought back souvenirs for everyone, but mostly they had reconnected and that was exactly what he had wanted when he’d suggested going away. Now they just had to stay that way. He wasn’t as afraid of them drifting away from each other now as he had been at the start of the trip, but he knew that, realistically, couples need times like they’d just had in order to stay happy. And he intended to be happy. He was funny that way.

“I’m so happy, Oliver,” she told him. “I haven’t been this happy in so long.”

“I know,” he said. “We just gotta come up with some ground rules for the team. If they want a happy and sane Arrow and Watchtower then they gotta let them have vacations and date nights and nights off and birthday celebrations that don’t get blown to smithereens.”

“I can’t believe you’re still bitter about that. AC and Mera apologized a thousand times.”

“Bart hasn’t.”

“Bart won’t and you know it. And it’s not like you didn’t get a present that night.”

And that was all it took to put him back in his happy place. That night had been the best present he’d ever gotten.

“We’re doing that again,” he told her, grabbing her and heading to the back of the plane.

When they finally landed on the tarmac they were greeted by the entire team.

“Whoa, what’s the occasion?” Chloe asked, coming down the stairs. “Did something happen?”

“Nope,” Victor said, giving her a hug and taking her bag. “We just felt like coming.”

Oliver wrapped Mia up in a big hug. He had really missed her.

“Miss me?” he asked, keeping his arm around her.

“No way,” she said, “not unless you brought me stuff.”

“First bag’s all yours,” he told her. She grinned but didn’t go running off, instead keeping her arm around him. “So, how’s Connor?” he asked and smirked at her suddenly guilty face.

“Fine,” she said, in a clipped tone.

When they had arrived back at the penthouse and Bart had super speed unpacked for them, except for the gifts and Chloe’s personal things, they all gathered around in the living room and got caught up.

“Well, I hate to break this up,” Chloe said a few hours later, “but if I’m going to get anywhere with looking through all the Argentina stuff, I’d better get started.”

“It’s all done, sitting on your desk,” Victor said proudly.

“What? Are you serious?”

“Yup, we got to thinking while you were gone. At first, we all just kinda fell apart and didn’t know what to do. Then the training and the common sense took over and despite the many times we all almost killed each other, we got the job done.”

“And we’re going to keep doing it,” Dinah said. “You guys can’t have all the fun.”

“Married life is tough,” AC said, taking Mera’s hand. “You need a break every now and then and not just once a year to go away.”

“Wow!” Chloe said, exchanging glances with Oliver who couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“So, here’s the deal,” Victor said, “we divided all the work you guys have been doing for the team. You still got all the power and the stuff you do best, but I’m taking over security and programming. Bart’s gonna help you with reporting leads. AC’s gonna take over Oliver’s patrols when he’s got real work stuff. Dinah and Mera are gonna help out with Mia. And we’re all gonna take care of our own issues without acting like you’re the parents, deal?”

“Oh, deal,” Chloe said, taking his hand.

“We’re going away more often,” Oliver said, clasping Victor’s hand as well.

“And I’m not going to act like a brat anymore,” Mia said. “Besides, I’m a full-fledged member of the team and I’m faster than you are now, Oliver.”

“No way, no how, Speedy,” he told her. “The student does not outstrip the teacher until he says she does.”

“Practice tomorrow says you’re wrong,” she told him.

“Deal yourself.”

“But we’ve still got a lot of work to get caught up on that you guys can’t help us out with,” Chloe said, “so we should get started on that.”

“Your secretary called,” Dinah told Oliver. “She said with a raise she’ll keep doing the level of work she’s been doing while you were gone. Also, that she hired you two more personal assistants so you should be able to cut back your work week from 80 hours to 60.”

“I’ll take that too,” Oliver said, feeling shocked. His secretary was more than capable and he trusted her implicitly. He’d always felt like if he could delegate a bit more he’d have more time and now was his chance.

“Bruce called,” Victor said, talking to Chloe. “He said he’s found someone who can take over Asia. You shouldn’t have to be running out there so often now.”

Her eyes widened.

“All of you, get out of here now,” she said. “Oliver and I are going to celebrate and I don’t think you want to be here when we do.”

The room emptied like they were all Bart that day and Chloe flung herself at him. Oliver scooped her up and kissed her like he had all the time in the world.

“This is another Zatanna trick, right?” he asked.

“If it is, I’m okay with that,” she said. “Imagine it; we could actually have normal-ish lives!”

“You going to admit I was right?” he asked.

“About what?” she asked incredulously.

“About taking that vacation.”

“Fine,” she said, “but I already knew that.”

He scooped her up and took her into the bedroom where he prepared to extend their vacation by a good 24 hours.

“You know what we have time for now?” he asked, kissing her slowly and languidly.

“What’s that?” she asked, arching herself up into his touch.

He just smiled and kissed her belly.


End file.
